Buying & Building a $60m Manufacturer

October 28, 2024
Listen in Apple Podcasts appListen in SpotifyListen in Apple Podcasts appListen in SpotifyRSS address of the Acquiring Minds podcast feed
M

any searchers will say, I'm looking to acquire a business and own it for the long term.

Well, admittedly I'm not sure I've yet had a guest who has actually done the second half of that mission: own for the long term.

So what might doing so look like?

This interview will show you.

Picture it: Chicago, the early/mid-90s. Today's guest Gat Caperton is in his late 20s, working for the famous entrepreneur Sam Zell by day, taking business school classes by night.

It occurs to Gat around this time that to really get to the next level, he should buy a business.

He was familiar with manufacturing. He was from West Virginia and wanted to get back.

So when he learned about an "old guy building furniture" in Berkeley Springs, West Virginia, he tried giving said old guy a call.

It worked, and Gat became the owner of a wood furniture manufacturer at age 29.

28 years later, he still very much owns the business, now called Gat Creek.

Gat Caperton in front of Gat Creek logo
Gat Caperton outside the Gat Creek factory

This year Gat Greek will sell about $25 million of American-made wood furniture to partners like Room & Board (a favorite store of mine).

And, Gat made a big bet coming out of Covid to double capacity over the following 7 years or so — aiming to reach $60m in annual sales.

This was such a fun interview, partly to peer into the future; some of my guests will indeed own & grow their businesses for decades.

And partly, because Gat is a fun guy with great stories.

I think you'll enjoy him too.

Here he is, Gat Caperton, owner of Gat Creek.

Read MoreStories

Buying & Building a $60m Manufacturer

When, at age 29, Gat Caperton bought a furniture maker in his native West Virginia, he was also buying himself a career.

Key Takeaways

Introduction

Listen to the introduction from the host

any searchers will say, I'm looking to acquire a business and own it for the long term.

Well, admittedly I'm not sure I've yet had a guest who has actually done the second half of that mission: own for the long term.

So what might doing so look like?

This interview will show you.

Picture it: Chicago, the early/mid-90s. Today's guest Gat Caperton is in his late 20s, working for the famous entrepreneur Sam Zell by day, taking business school classes by night.

It occurs to Gat around this time that to really get to the next level, he should buy a business.

He was familiar with manufacturing. He was from West Virginia and wanted to get back.

So when he learned about an "old guy building furniture" in Berkeley Springs, West Virginia, he tried giving said old guy a call.

It worked, and Gat became the owner of a wood furniture manufacturer at age 29.

28 years later, he still very much owns the business, now called Gat Creek.

Gat Caperton in front of Gat Creek logo
Gat Caperton outside the Gat Creek factory

This year Gat Greek will sell about $25 million of American-made wood furniture to partners like Room & Board (a favorite store of mine).

And, Gat made a big bet coming out of Covid to double capacity over the following 7 years or so — aiming to reach $60m in annual sales.

This was such a fun interview, partly to peer into the future; some of my guests will indeed own & grow their businesses for decades.

And partly, because Gat is a fun guy with great stories.

I think you'll enjoy him too.

Here he is, Gat Caperton, owner of Gat Creek.

About

Gat Caperton

Gat Caperton
Olivia Rhye
Product Designer

Show Notes

Episode Transcript

Show Transcript
Hide Transcript

Listen instead of watch

Register for the live Q&A
Gat Caperton
on
<date>
Subscribe to newsletter
Subscribe to receive the latest blog posts to your inbox every week.
By subscribing you agree to with our policies.
Thank you! Your submission has been received!
Oops! Something went wrong while submitting the form.